by Ronald M.
On a summer day, disaster was averted. At risk were 150 jobs, disappointed customers, millions of dollars in lost revenue and
millions in additional capital expense. This is my story.
On Tuesday,
June 25, 1968, I worked at the Dragon Cement plant (then a division of Martin
Marietta) located in the small town of Northampton, Pennsylvania. I was the first-class
electrician on the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift. My duties were to monitor, maintain
and repair the plant's electrical and production equipment. This are my memories of that Tuesday evening, so many years ago.
In the early
evening hours, an ominous storm was upon the Lehigh Valley, including the
Northampton area. I watched the storm approach. There was lighting, thunder, heavy
winds and rain. As the storm grew more intense, I proceeded to take up
residence at the plant’s electrical center substation. I was confident that I
knew what to do should an emergency arise. I began to think about the process
of disconnecting the entire electrical load. This was a major decision because
the plant was operating at 100 percent full capacity with all of the materials
in the systems, on the conveyors, in the grinding mills and clinkers burning at
2600 degrees Fahrenheit in the kilns. If the kilns are not turning, the 2,600-degree
heat will warp the kiln and render it useless. What challenged my abilities to
perform my duties were the dire consequences that might come with closing down
the entire plant. Abruptly halting production (when all systems are on full
capacity) would cause catastrophic results. I had to consider millions of
dollars lost in revenues and millions of dollars for new capital equipment. My
actions would not only cost me my job, but the jobs of 150 other employees
working at the plant. Employee safety was a major concern, and I needed to
reconcile the decision to shut down the plant.
The storm
became more intense and vicious; employee safety was now the only concern on my
mind. I could no longer wait, and I made a bold decision. It was time to act,
and the decision was made—I would disconnect the entire plant. I felt confident
in my decision-making abilities from my training at the plant and back in the United
States Navy when I was aboard the U.S.S. Baltimore CA68 heavy cruiser back in
1952 to 1956.
Just as I
opened the main oil circuit breaker to disconnect the entire plant’s electrical
system, lightning struck the substation! The incoming 69,000-volt line blew out
the 2,300-volt transformer, destroying many 6-foot high insulators and sending
debris that gouged out of the substation’s walls. (These building gouges are
still visible today.) As the strike hit the main 2,300-volt transformer, the
pressure built up,blowing out the top safety hatch and spilling
oil and flames over the transformer and the substation. I felt the explosion
and fire. My only protection from the 69,000 volts, the fire and the explosion
was a concrete wall! I was lucky that I was not injured! As the only person in
the substation, and although there was equipment chaos going on around me, I
proceeded to fight the oil fires.
A disaster like this had never happened at the plant either before or since. My work dedication, attention to detail and training gave me the foundation to perform during a disaster. I never could have imagined a
disaster of this magnitude.
The plant was dark, the fire was successfully
extinguished and I was able to stabilize the situation. Chief Electrician Steven
A. Lizak arrived at the scene. Once he was there, we performed an electrical
assessment and began to restore power. We needed to get the kilns turning, or
risk unrepairable damage.
Working around the clock, we replaced the oil in the
main oil circuit breaker switch gear, replaced the destroyed insulators,
cleaned up the substation, switched over to the spare 2,300 volt transformer
and cleaned up all of the 69,000-volt knife switches. Electrical supply was
back on line within 24 hours. We proceeded to restore power to the production
departments’ one system at a time. This ensured employee and equipment safety. During
operation capacity, the approximate power consumption per month of the plant was
4,400,000 kilowatt-hour, producing 420,000 tons of cement per year.
I was very proud my actions that night were able to
potentially save millions of dollars and 150 jobs. I also assisted
the plant management team to restore the employee’s faith in the safety of the
plant and to put the plant back on-line. It was a lot of excitement and I will
never forget that day. I received a letter of commendation from the plant
manager.
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| My Letter of Commendation |
